Good all purpose intermediate ski?

Sheesh, there are a million skis and the reviews all say "this is the
best ski for doing everything on the mountain."
Have skied maybe 10 times recently, skied more a few years back. I
mostly just ski the slopes near the lifts. By the way, I'm a large
fellow, 6' 240 lbs. How does my heaviness affect my length choice?

My biggest frustration is when I get going fast and try to dig the
edges in, they just don't bite, and instead just slide, and come out
from under me. No doubt my technique isn't great but I should be able
to carve some turns...

Thanks for any help,
Wiz

In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-Sheesh, there are a million skis and the reviews all say "this is the
-best ski for doing everything on the mountain."
-Have skied maybe 10 times recently, skied more a few years back. I
-mostly just ski the slopes near the lifts. By the way, I'm a large
-fellow, 6' 240 lbs. How does my heaviness affect my length choice?
-
-My biggest frustration is when I get going fast and try to dig the
-edges in, they just don't bite, and instead just slide, and come out
-from under me. No doubt my technique isn't great but I should be able
-to carve some turns...
-
-Thanks for any help,
-Wiz
-

I'm also around 240, and the very best thing that happened to me as an
intermediate was buying a pair of racing skis. (well, recreational racing,
anyway - Volkl EnergYrails)

Not so much the length, but the stiffness and flex pattern are important, and
things marketed as 'intermediate' don't have them.

Don't be scared off - look at 'expert', and 'racing' skis rather than
intermediate.

Not only did they not wash out, making skiing easier, but my having the confidence
to know that they wouldn't wash out made it massively easier for me to improve.

Steve

Steve wrote:
In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-Sheesh, there are a million skis and the reviews all say "this is the
-best ski for doing everything on the mountain."
-Have skied maybe 10 times recently, skied more a few years back. I
-mostly just ski the slopes near the lifts. By the way, I'm a large
-fellow, 6' 240 lbs. How does my heaviness affect my length choice?
-
-My biggest frustration is when I get going fast and try to dig the
-edges in, they just don't bite, and instead just slide, and come out
-from under me. No doubt my technique isn't great but I should be able
-to carve some turns...
-
-Thanks for any help,
-Wiz
-

I'm also around 240, and the very best thing that happened to me as an
intermediate was buying a pair of racing skis. (well, recreational racing,
anyway - Volkl EnergYrails)

Not so much the length, but the stiffness and flex pattern are important, and
things marketed as 'intermediate' don't have them.

Don't be scared off - look at 'expert', and 'racing' skis rather than
intermediate.

Not only did they not wash out, making skiing easier, but my having the confidence
to know that they wouldn't wash out made it massively easier for me to improve.

Steve


Thanks much Steve. I did a bit of Googling, and can't find anything
about energYrails on the volkl site. I saw references elsewhere to a
P40 with energYrails, and someone was selling some bindings attached to
energYrails on ebay, no skis though. Could you straighten me up on what
ski you have exactly?

Wiz

| Sheesh, there are a million skis and the reviews all say "this is the
| best ski for doing everything on the mountain."
| Have skied maybe 10 times recently, skied more a few years back. I
| mostly just ski the slopes near the lifts. By the way, I'm a large
| fellow, 6' 240 lbs. How does my heaviness affect my length choice?
|
| My biggest frustration is when I get going fast and try to dig the
| edges in, they just don't bite, and instead just slide, and come out
| from under me. No doubt my technique isn't great but I should be able
| to carve some turns...
|
| Thanks for any help,
| Wiz

There is an excellent website by Peter Keelty about ski equipment and
technique:
http://www.techsupportforskiers.com/

There is some information for non-subscribers and a lot of information
for subscribers @ $20/year.

JohnH wrote:
| Sheesh, there are a million skis and the reviews all say "this is the
| best ski for doing everything on the mountain."
| Have skied maybe 10 times recently, skied more a few years back. I
| mostly just ski the slopes near the lifts. By the way, I'm a large
| fellow, 6' 240 lbs. How does my heaviness affect my length choice?
|
| My biggest frustration is when I get going fast and try to dig the
| edges in, they just don't bite, and instead just slide, and come out
| from under me. No doubt my technique isn't great but I should be able
| to carve some turns...
|
| Thanks for any help,
| Wiz

There is an excellent website by Peter Keelty about ski equipment and
technique:
http://www.techsupportforskiers.com/

There is some information for non-subscribers and a lot of information
for subscribers @ $20/year.


Thanks John, that looks like a great resource.

Wiz

In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-
-Steve wrote:
-
- I'm also around 240, and the very best thing that happened to me as an
- intermediate was buying a pair of racing skis. (well, recreational racing,
- anyway - Volkl EnergYrails)
-
-
-Thanks much Steve. I did a bit of Googling, and can't find anything
-about energYrails on the volkl site. I saw references elsewhere to a
-P40 with energYrails, and someone was selling some bindings attached to
-energYrails on ebay, no skis though. Could you straighten me up on what
-ski you have exactly?
-
-Wiz
-

The P40s are the ones I have (and a pair of their followup P50 GS in the closet in
case I need them). They're from the '00-'01 model year. I'm not sure what Volkl
would call them now - you'll want to demo if you can in any case.

I bought them NOS (new old stock) on Ebay a couple years after their model year
for next to nothing.

I ski 183s, but I'm guessing that a more modern equivalent niche ski would probably
be a little shorter.

Steve

Steve wrote:
In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-
-Steve wrote:
-
- I'm also around 240, and the very best thing that happened to me as an
- intermediate was buying a pair of racing skis. (well, recreational racing,
- anyway - Volkl EnergYrails)
-
-
-Thanks much Steve. I did a bit of Googling, and can't find anything
-about energYrails on the volkl site. I saw references elsewhere to a
-P40 with energYrails, and someone was selling some bindings attached to
-energYrails on ebay, no skis though. Could you straighten me up on what
-ski you have exactly?
-
-Wiz
-

The P40s are the ones I have (and a pair of their followup P50 GS in the closet in
case I need them). They're from the '00-'01 model year. I'm not sure what Volkl
would call them now - you'll want to demo if you can in any case.

I bought them NOS (new old stock) on Ebay a couple years after their model year
for next to nothing.

I ski 183s, but I'm guessing that a more modern equivalent niche ski would probably
be a little shorter.

Steve

Thanks Steve. It looks like some P40/50s have the energyrails and some
don't. Here is one from Ebay that does:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5104&rd=1&rd=1

and one that doesn't:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Volkl-F1-P40-Men...QQcmdZViewItem

or actually I can't really tell since the latter has the bindings on
it. So, is the energy rail system on all P40/50s, or just some, do you
know? I've read some reviews of them and it seems like the rail makes a
lot of difference in cutting power when carving.

Thanks again....

Wiz

In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-
-Thanks Steve. It looks like some P40/50s have the energyrails and some
-don't. Here is one from Ebay that does:
-http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT &viewitem=&item=2716315104&rd=1&rd=1
-
-and one that doesn't:
-http://cgi.ebay.com/Volkl-F1-P40-Mens-Skis-193-With-Marker-M9-1-Bindings_W0QQitemZ120074898948QQihZ002QQcategoryZ2 6350QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
-
-or actually I can't really tell since the latter has the bindings on
-it. So, is the energy rail system on all P40/50s, or just some, do you
-know? I've read some reviews of them and it seems like the rail makes a
-lot of difference in cutting power when carving.
-
-Thanks again....
-
-Wiz
-


Right. Volkl made (at least) 3 models called P40, and a couple different ones called P50 the next year or two.

In P40s, there were two that were exactly the same ski, except either with or without the riser system
that they called the EnergYrail. You can USUALLY but not always tell them apart because the
EnergYrail skis are green and black, and the flat skis are red and black. I'm told they're exactly
the same construction.

It can get a little confusing, because the red and black skis can have the rail system mounted after
the fact, and the green and black skis were sometimes sold without the rails, but in general, with the
stiff P40s, green have the riser, and red don't.

Now it gets more confusing. They also sold skis called the P40 Platinums. These are the same shape as
the EnergY skis, but a little softer. (I have a pair of those for my rock skis. I love the Volkls).

And to top it off, they had a ski called the P40 race carver, which is what that second ski in your
message is. They're a little orange instead of dark red, and they have a different graphic. I know
absolutely nothing about them except they were apparently much more popular in Europe than the US,
and they started showing up en masse on Ebay a year or two after the other 3 models.

The first one in your message is exactly the model I have waiting in my closet until my current pair dies.
For what it's worth, the plate on that model is pre-drilled for Marker bindings.

Don't get too hung up on the Volkls. I love them, and there are a few other cultists around, but
Atomic also make some great skis for big guys, and I'm guessing some of the Fisher and modern Heads
are good too.

If you have a chance to demo, you definitely should.

Steve

In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-
-
-or actually I can't really tell since the latter has the bindings on
-it. So, is the energy rail system on all P40/50s, or just some, do you
-know? I've read some reviews of them and it seems like the rail makes a
-lot of difference in cutting power when carving.
-
-Thanks again....
-
-Wiz
-

For what it's worth, I doubt the riser makes any difference at all for
a non-racer on the stiff P40s. I've never skied the model without it,
but I think it's unlikely normal people would ever be in a position where
an extra centimeter of height would be necessary on those skis.

Maybe lal_truckee can weigh in?

Steve

Steve wrote:
In article . com,
wizzywiz wrote:
-
-
-or actually I can't really tell since the latter has the bindings on
-it. So, is the energy rail system on all P40/50s, or just some, do you
-know? I've read some reviews of them and it seems like the rail makes a
-lot of difference in cutting power when carving.
-
-Thanks again....
-
-Wiz
-

For what it's worth, I doubt the riser makes any difference at all for
a non-racer on the stiff P40s. I've never skied the model without it,
but I think it's unlikely normal people would ever be in a position where
an extra centimeter of height would be necessary on those skis.

Maybe lal_truckee can weigh in?

Steve


Thanks a lot, Steve, You sure know your Volkls. Do you mainly ski east
coast? I'm getting the idea that there's more ice there and people need
hard carvers more....

Thanks again.

Wiz